Search for MU chancellor will take “several months,” UM System Spokesman reveals cost

The search for a new MU Chancellor is officially underway. Interim President Michael Middleton announced the search today.

“Our Columbia campus is an integral part of our university system and I believe that its success contributes significantly to the success of the entire state. Dr. Choi has made it clear that establishing permanent leadership at MU is an early priority of his presidency,” Middleton said in a statement. “Today we will begin the process of selecting the next great leader of MU by launching a national search which is the customary approach for a prestigious public, land-grand AAU institution.”

The UM System says it’s hired Isaacson, Miller, which is the same national search firm that oversaw the search for president. UM System spokesperson John Fougere says the firm will be paid $140,000.

“We hired the same national search firm as we did for the search for the UM System President…we are paying them $140,000, a flat fee, for the search for the permanent University of Missouri Columbia campus. We paid a little bit more, $150,000, to Isaacson, Miller to work with them for the search for the UM System President.

In a statement released today, Interim Chancellor Hank Foley, who has held the position for over a year following the resignation of former MU Chancellor Bowen Loftin, expressed his interest in the job.

“I have been honored and privileged to serve as interim chancellor of Mizzou this past year. The team we’ve built to lead Missouri’s premier public university is strong and uniquely position to continue to move MU in the right direction,” Foley said. “The opportunity to work alongside our tremendous faculty, staff and students-to grow research, seek new funding models and improve our best-in-class programs-is an honor I’d cherish.

He added, “While it is my hope to continue serving as chancellor, I understand that a national search for a permanent chancellor of this university is necessary, and I applaud and support President Middleton’s and President-designate Choi’s choice to do so. I look forward to participating in the process.”

Despite Foley’s interest, Fougere says the search is necessary to ensure they find the best person for the job.

“It’s imperative that we leave no stone unturned, that we do our utmost due diligence to ensure that we are hiring the absolute best person…” he said. “That’s the industry standard that’s the customary approach of other public AU land grant institutions and that’s the approach we’re going to take here at the University of Missouri as well.”

In a statement, UM System President-Designate Dr. Mun Choi expressed his strong belief in the “tradition of shared governance.”

“We believe in the tradition of shared governance, and the position of chancellor at MU demands that we honor that tradition by instituting a national search that is clear in its structure and process,” he said. “A detailed, comprehensive national search befits MU’s status as one of the nation’s public universities.”

Dr. Mun Choi will officially begin his position on March 1st, 2017. Fougere says there is no timeline for when the chancellor search will be finished.

“The most important factor here is not timing–the most important factor is getting the best possible person, the best possible leader for a great land-grant public institution,” he said.

The UM System will be assembling a search committee in the near future and will ultimately present their recommendations to Dr. Choi.